FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Federal legislation introduced Wednesday would encourage all states to enact laws similar to Florida’s new statute that allows the government to seize firearms of people deemed dangerous to themselves or others.
In the aftermath of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre — in which 17 people were killed and 17 injured by a shooter who had previously exhibited mental health issues — Florida established a type of restraining order that allows guns to be taken away from dangerous people.
Since the law took effect, Broward County leads the state in issuance of such orders. “Already in Florida, dozens of incidents now have taken place where law enforcement has used that law to take guns away from people who could do harm who posed a threat to themselves or to their community,” said U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, a Democrat whose district includes Stoneman Douglas High, in Parkland.
At a Washington, D.C., news conference, Deutch said the Stoneman Douglas shooting shows why such laws are needed. “On February 14 of 2018, a hole was torn out of the heart of our community,” he said. “We cannot do anything to bring them back, by my God, if Congress can’t come together to take action, figure out how to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, then we don’t deserve to be here.”
The measure was endorsed by 24 relatives of people killed in the Parkland massacre.
“The safety of students, teachers and staff in our schools cannot wait. The moment to consider legislation like the Jake Laird Act is right now. We must continue to work together to keep firearms away from those that are an immediate risk to themselves or to others,” they wrote in a letter. “We must be the last families
